There are several strategies used to solve Sudoku puzzles. They range from relatively simple intuitive solutions to more complex markings and great feats of logic. Some puzzles are easy enough to solve with one type of strategy. Other puzzles are more difficult and require multiple strategies. Some puzzle makers intentionally make a player go through different types of thinking to solve a given Sudoku puzzles. Some puzzle makers prefer to make theirs involving one type of logic, just very rigorously applied. The most common Sudoku solving strategy involves scanning. This is simply looking over the rows, using the given answers, to assign, by process of elimination which particular numbers cannot appear in given rows and columns. Because of the interrelationship of so much of the board, this slow process of elimination can narrow down much of the Sudoku board. The givens may only lead to one or two answers immediately, but these (after rescanning the board) begin to lead to more and more. Of course, it takes time for a new player to learn the ways of Sudoku strategy, but most easy puzzles can be solved with concentrated scanning. The important thing, according to Sudoku strategy experts, is to be meticulous in the process of elimination. Every digit must be accounted for because it’s very easy to get lost on a tangent and end up not having checked a certain segment of digits. Sudoku gets sufficiently complex enough that an error may not be noticed for a good deal of time. And once an error is noticed, it’s sometimes difficult to retraces one’s steps and determine what was solved correctly and what wasn’t. In many cases, one must begin the puzzle all over again, which is a frustrating experience, especially for someone new to Sudoku and its strategy. Being thorough on checking assumptions and processes of elimination isn’t something that one can stop doing with experience. The work will go quicker, but the thoroughness is required because the smallest error will throw off the rest of the puzzle. That’s why one of the most recommended Sudoku strategies is to learn a methodical process that works and stick with it. Some of the more advanced strategies will be more complex, but nonetheless, the need for a methodical Sudoku strategy will never go away. One of the more advanced strategies is called negative markup. It’s counterintuitive, but it’s basically scanning in reverse. The idea is to determine which digits cannot be placed in which squares and doing a reverse process of elimination to determine which digit, therefore, can. The process can be thorough enough that one could put down the Sudoku puzzle and begin at a later time without having to begin from an earlier point to get back on the correct logical platform. This Sudoku strategy is powerful because it allows for transparency to see why digits cannot be placed in given rows and therefore what can be placed there. It still requires a lot of work and a methodical process, but it solves things a lot quicker than just scanning the Sudoku for one digit at a time. As one learns Sudoku puzzles, it’s important to learn strategies to deal with the more difficult ones.
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